Financial Modules Specialists. What Do We Know About SAP FI/CO Consultants?
Improved financial management and expense control, leading to greater operational efficiency and increased chances of business success. More and more companies in Poland are choosing to use SAP’s financial and controlling modules (FI and CO). However, the effectiveness of their processes in these areas depends on the quality of their implementation, development, and support in daily use. Six out of ten companies using SAP plan to hire specialists for FI/CO. What do we know about the motivation and availability of consultants for SAP financial and controlling modules?
Demographics
As much as 31% of SAP FI/CO specialists are women. This is the highest percentage among all modules, 6 percentage points higher than the average for the entire community. This indicator is a result of the fairly common career path choice from SAP key user to consultant and the fact that Poland is often chosen by international financial companies as a location for shared service centers. It is estimated that the number of such entities has exceeded 1700 (ABSL data), with over 400,000 people working in them. Poland is home to such centers for 9 out of the world’s 25 largest banks.
Over 95% of surveyed SAP FI/CO consultants have higher education. Graduates in economic and financial and accounting fields dominate (39%), followed by IT (28%), and management (12%).
The majority are consultants in the 31-40 age group, with nearly one-third being in their 40s. It may be concerning that only just under 10% are below 30 years old. For the entire SAP community, this result is more than 7 percentage points higher. The small number of the youngest consultants may indicate a future shortage of specialists.
Experience
Just over 6% of respondents are juniors with up to 2 years of experience, while in the 2-4 years range, we additionally have nearly 11% of respondents. Most consultants have been working with SAP for over 9 years.
They usually acquire knowledge of working with the system independently, as users and key users of the system. Another common source of knowledge is other consultants, and occasionally also courses and internet forums dedicated to knowledge exchange.
In addition to FI and CO, they are familiar with at least the basics of ABAP, architecture, SAP Basis, or logistics modules: MM, SD. Furthermore, they are knowledgeable about SAP project management. All surveyed by Awareson declare proficiency in English, with only 3% at a basic level. Knowledge of German is declared by 56%, but two-thirds of them only at a basic level.
How SAP FI/CO Consultants Work
Three-quarters of respondents work exclusively for one employer. 41% work on contracts, while the rest have employment contracts. Remote work predominates – two-thirds of respondents work this way. Just under 4% of respondents work fully from the company’s headquarters.
Remuneration
Over half of SAP FI/CO consultants are satisfied with their current remuneration, although 76% of respondents expect a raise this year – preferably above 15%.
Turnover
Change of job is declared by 26.5% of respondents in the coming year, and another 42% consider it in case of a good offer. The main motivation for changing jobs is development, followed by remuneration and the quality of managing the company or project.
The data used in the article comes from the first survey of the SAP community in Poland conducted by Awareson in 2023 among 566 SAP consultants.
The full report is available here: SAP Report 2023
